Dept. of Migrant Workers chief denies role in OFW recruitment

Department of Migrant Workers Sec. Abdullah Mama-o (INQUIRER.NET)

 MANILA, Philippines— Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Abdullah Mama-o on Friday denied that he was involved in the recruitment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)

“That is not true,” Mama-o said in a Teleradyo interview.

Mama-o also said he was never involved in any recruitment activities when he served as the Presidential Adviser on OFW concerns.

“During all these years that I worked with this administration, I had not been involved in any kind of recruitment activities, and for that matter, that is not a valid issue against me,” Mama-o stressed.

“So I just want to say that anybody making that accusation should be ashamed of himself because I was never involved in any kind of recruitment activities,” the DMW chief added. 

Mama-o earloer issued a department order lifting the Saudi Arabia deployment ban to serve “the national interest and the interests of OFWs as well as the recruitment industry.”

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, however, disputed Mama-o’s order, saying the deployment ban in Saudi stays.

Bello also said the DMW has yet to be fully constituted, citing the law that created the new department.

In December 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the measure creating the DMW to consolidate all relevant agencies under one office to make it easier for migrant workers to get their documents and seek help from the government.

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